Second Chances: Part 6: "The best Laid Plans"
by Trish1
Summary: Armus, Richard, Eleanor, and Cedric take matters into their own hands.


Second Chances. Part 6. The Best Laid Plans. (PG)  
Written by Trish  
Disclaimer: The following is a work of fanfiction based on the characters and placed from the 1992 television series Covington Cross. No copyright infringement is intended and no profit has been made.   
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"I am so sorry, Thomas. There is nothing I can do. I wish there was." King Edward could see the anguish in his old friend's eyes. Thomas and Armus had arrived late in the morning, and the king had greeted them warmly ushering them into his private study. Armus never failed to be amazed at his father's easy manner with the king. Sir Thomas was Eward's subject and loyal servant, but it was obvious that there was a close friendship between the two. The young man sat listening intently and learning, knowing that it would someday be his responsibility to bring family concerns before the monarch. He prayed he would be as skilled at the task as his father.   
  
Edward sat in the large regal chair across from the Grays. He wished there was something he could do for Thomas. Everyone at court knew how deeply he loved Lady Elizabeth. They had known even before he admitted it to himself. They also knew that Elizabeth truly loved him. It broke the king's heart to see the two torn apart, possibly forever, but even he could not change the law, especially where marriage was concerned. People called them 'the King's laws', but they had become his by inheritance, not by choice. This was one time he wished he could rewrite at least one of them.   
  
"Thomas, she is his wife. Unfortunately, that is the law. " The king reminded him, laying his hand on the knight's shoulder. Edward was tall, with a booming, usually jovial voice. Today however, it's somber tone matched Sir Thomas Gray's mood.   
  
"Leland has not shown his face in fifteen years." Thomas pleaded. "Surely that must count as abandonment."   
  
"If he was coerced as you say, then there are extentuating circumstances." The king reasoned. "Besides even if there were to be a trial to dissolve the marriage you know the judges would be knights most of your own rank. I am afraid many of them would side with Leland. You are a well liked man, Thomas. But they would put themselves in his place. What would they do upon returning to find their wives involved with another man. Do you really think it wise to drag Lady Elizabeth through that?"  
  
Thomas knew his friend spoke logic, as much as he hated to hear it, and he visably sank. His mind not able to come to terms with a life without Elizabeth. "I was hoping that...she and I would have a future together." He said, thinking of what he had been planning to ask her only yesterday.   
  
Edward leaned forward a little and said half whispering. "Thomas, I know you care for her a great deal. If this thing cannot be solved there are...other ways. Leland's castle is not far from yours, and he will probably stay, along with Elizabeth, to reclaim his title and priviledges. Perhaps you and she..." Edward trailed off, seeing Armus squirm with discomfort at the turn of the topic.   
  
"No, I could never do that to her...make her that kind of woman." Thomas cringed. He loved her far too much to see her honor sullied, but the thought of her with Leland was driving him crazy.   
  
"Forgive me, Thomas." The king asked. "I know Lady Elizabeth is too fine for that. I should have never suggested it." He realized that Thomas did not want Elizabeth as his mistress, he wanted her as his wife. "I truly wish there was more I could do."  
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Richard and Cedric krept along the outer wall of the castle that seemed to appear out of the valley like some otherwordly beast. The brothers kept their swords drawn and at the ready, this was Baron Mullens lair, and there was no telling what awaited them. It was best to be prepared. They felt a twinge of guilt over the fact that they had disobeyed their father by leaving Lady Elizabeth. However, Eleanor was standing guard at Covington Cross, and the boys were confident in her abilities to handle any situation.   
  
The ground on which they made silent steps was wet and muddy. Richard winced as his boots sunk into the muck with each step. Cedric's footing was more confident. Richard realized with a smile that his younger brother had done this before. As they reached a small outcropping of rock which was covered in moss and half hidden by brambles Richard heard a noise. He could not quite place it, at first he thought it was an animal but then thought that even an animal would stay clear of this place. He held his sword out in front of him, ready for battle, but Cedric laughed at him and pushed his sword away. Now Richard recognized the noise he had heard. It was a giggle, the giggle of a young girl. Alexandra was watching them from the brambles.   
  
Richard stood by uncomfortably as Cedric Gray and Alexandra Mullens lovingly greeted each other. She had been away at convent school, and it had been awhile since they had seen each other. It showed. Richard impatiently cleared his throat interrupting their tender reunion. With that Cedric related the story of Lady Elizabeth's husband's return from the dead.   
  
"Oh, poor Lady Elizabeth. She must be beside herself." Alexandra declared, concerned. She knew how the Lady Leland and Sir Thomas felt about each other. "How is your father taking the news?" She asked.   
  
"He is in shock over the whole situation, but determined that Lady Elizabeth will not go back to Sir Robert." Cedric said.   
  
"Is there anything I can do?" Alexandra asked innocently.   
  
Cedric and Richard smiled at each other. "Well, now that you mention it..." Cedric began.   
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Sir Thomas stode across the courtyard of his castle scowling. His eldest son followed behind him as deep in thought as his father. As they approached the door that led to the great hall Thomas realized it was standing ajar. He felt worry and concern grip his heart like a vice. Exterior castle doors were never left in such a manner, and especially not now.   
  
"Richard! Cedric!" He yelled pushing the door aside and entering. He and Armus tightened their grips on their respective sword handles.   
  
Thomas did not expect the sight that met his eyes. Eleanor was half sitting half laying on the bottom step of the large staircase, her hand trying to calm the throbbing in the knot that was appearing on her forehead. Thomas ran over and bent down beside his daughter, at once worried over her injury.   
  
"Eleanor." He said gently helping her sit up.   
  
"I'm alright father."She said. "They caught me by surprise." She reported still shaking off the fog in her head.  
  
"What?" Thomas questioned. Then fear gripped his heart. Looking up the staircase, he yelled. "Elizabeth!"  
  
"She's gone, Father." Eleanor said apologetically. "They took her. I tried to stop them."  
  
"Who's they?" Armus questioned, as his father's mind reeled.   
  
"Leland!" Thomas cursed.  
  
"No, it wasn't him. I don't know who they were." Eleanor said trying to stand, helped by her brother.   
  
"I'm sure a practiced bandit would know where to hire some underlings to do his dirty work." Armus said, increasingly suspicious that it had been Leland who had kidnapped Elizabeth.   
  
It was then that the door to the great hall crashed open. John Mullens strode in seething. He was followed by two huge brutes, one grasping Richard and the other Cedric. "Look at what I found crawling around my castle. I really must talk to my housekeeper about the vermon problem." Mullens said with contempt.   
  
Thomas rose to his feet and drew his sword as the henchmen released his sons. "What is the meaning of this." He demanded.   
  
"That's what I would like to know." Mullens demanded. "Imagine my surprise when these two...children try to kidnap me out of my own home."   
  
Thomas looked at his sons ready to explode, but he kept his temper in check considering the company which had now darkened his doorway. He then looked at Mullens. Thomas wanted him gone and decided diplomacy was the best means to acheive the desired end. "I will certainly talk to them and get to the bottom of this. Now if you will excuse us, we have family business to discuss." His eyes flashed at his sons.   
  
"I would not dream of staying in this...place any longer than I have to." Mullens looked around in overexaggerated disgust. Thomas let the look slide. "Besides, I myself have some very important business to take care of." Mullens turned and walked toward the door snapping his fingers. His two henchmen followed like trained dogs.   
  
When the door slammed Thomas turned on his sons. "You left her alone?" He questioned.   
  
"Eleanor was with her." The boys said embarrased. "We thought we could take care of our business and get back, but Mullens found us."  
  
"And what were you doing at Mullen's castle?" Thomas raged.  
  
Richard and Cedric looked sheepishly at each other. It had been Cedric's plan, so it was Cedric who volunteered the information. "We thought if we could get Mullens and Sir Robert infront of the king, then King Edward would see that Lady Elizabeth was the victim in all of this..." Cedric explained.  
  
"...and he would dissolve her marriage." His Father finished his sentence for him. "Did you two know about this?" He asked Armus and Eleanor, who looked away guiltily.   
  
Finally Richard and Cedric noticed the bruise appearring on their sister's forehead and the shaken demeanor of her posture. "What's wrong? What's happenned?" Richard asked alarmed.   
  
"While you two were galavanting all over the countryside trying to kidnap noblemen, against my express wishes I might add." Sir Thomas began. "Someone broke in here, overpowered your sister, and took Lady Elizabeth."  
  
"What?" Richard asked bewildered.   
  
"It must have been Leland." Cedric interjected.   
  
"It wasn't him." Eleanor said shaking her head.  
  
As the family stared at each other it was Armus who offered some small voice of reason. "We are all well aware of Sir Robert's acquaintance with outlaws, it is possible he would not be one to do his own handywork in the area of kidnapping."   
  
Sir Thomas's eyes suddenly burned with rage as he realized that his son could very well be correct. "Can you ride." He asked his daughter with concern.  
  
"Better than any of them." she pointed to her brothers. They let the usual challenge pass for the moment.   
  
"Then we're away to Leland's castle." Thomas ordered. The Grays almost as one ran into the courtyard and hurried to the stables. They saddled and mounted their horses in record time. The trail of dust rose to the roof as they tore through the gates of Covington Cross on a mission.  
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Sir Robert Leland was wearing a pattern in the thick carpet beneath his feet. It was strange how much his own castle seemed foreign to him. He had been raised there, had built a life with Elizabeth there. Now, however, it seemed he was more used to hovels and cold, hard ground than luxuries. His mind was racing. He had not meant for his reunion with his wife to go so horribly wrong. He had pictured it millions of times, dreamed about it. Always it ended with Elizabeth rushing into his arms and the two of them pledging their undying love for each other. He should have realized she would have gotten on with life, and found someone else. A beautiful woman like she, in these time. She would have had out of sheer necessity. He did admire the success she had made of herself. He saw a confident and independant woman in the place of the quiet girl he had been forced to leave all those years ago. She had a new life now. That was the reason he had not gone after her to Covington Cross. He would have to win her back through merit and love, not force. But could he after all those years of life as a bandit, he too had changed.   
  
Suddenly the door burst open, interrupting his thoughts. "Where is she!" Thomas demanded, clearing the distance of the room in two long strides, and grabbing Sir Robert by the shirt forcing him up against the hard stone wall.   
  
"What? What do you mean?" Robert questioned. "Something's happened to Elizabeth." The fear in his eyes was rivaled only by the rage in Sir Thomas's, for he knew what this must mean.   
  
"Don't play dumb with me Robert. You know exactly was happened." Thomas spat at him.  
  
"Thomas, I swear to you on the life of the king, I do not. You must tell me." Robert begged his concern for Elizabeth growing.  
  
Upon hearing those words Thomas knew that Leland indeed did not know where Lady Elizabeth was. No knight in the realm would take those words lightly, no matter how colored their past. He loosened his grip on Roberts tunic and told him the news. "Someone broke into Covington Cross and kidnapped her."   
  
Robert's face went white. He had feared this would happen but had let himself believe that too many years had passed for the threat to be carried out, and that no one knew he had returned. He was wrong. "Mullens." He hissed. "I've had a feeling his spies have watching me all these years, even in Ireland. I had hoped my return had been well enough disguised. I was wrong, terribly, terribly wrong." He said cursing himself for putting Elizabeth in such danger.   
  
"You mean he's going to kill her, because of you?" Thomas asked frantic. "You knew your presence here would put her in danger and you came anyway?"   
  
"I thought I was careful enough. That I had stayed hidden well enough. I had gathered enough evidence to incriminate Mullens in the ambush and was taking it to the king. It was only by chance that I happened upon Elizabeth sooner than expected. I needed funds to live on and found her...with you." Robert rambled trying to calm his own fears.  
  
"If anything happens to her, there won't be anywhere for you to hide, Leland." Thomas vowed, his eyes burning.   
  
Just then there was a shout from the courtyard, in an accent Sir Robert remembered well. Sir Robert, Sir Thomas and the children ran to the window and flung it open. "Well, I see loyalty does pay in the house of Mullens." Robert whispered. "That's the Scotsman I saw with Mullens all those years ago."   
  
"Leland, Gray!" The henchman yelled. "I've got your woman." At that he reached into the carriage he had driven and pulled Lady Elizabeth from inside, throwing her to the ground. She was bound and gagged, and Thomas could tell she was frightened. Richard and Armus sensed action on their father's part and layed their hands on his shoulder to keep him from jumping through the open window.   
  
"Ya, know what we want, Leland." The man said. "You were told what would happen if you returned. I've been bid to give you another chance." Said the Scotsman who knew he too would be hanged if his partnership with his boss all those years ago were discovered. He picked Lady Elizabeth up off the ground and ran his long knife down the side of her face, It did not draw blood, but the point was well taken.   
  
"Ya know where to come and Ya know what we want." The Scotsman announced as he shoved Elizabeth back into the rickety carriage and drove ferocisouly away.   
  
Inside the Grays and Leland looked at each other. "What did he mean, you know what we want?" Thomas asked suspisciously.  
  
"Me." Leland informed him.   
  
_.....to be continued._  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



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